Prabal Gurung has been a New York darling for several years now, but the designer failed to light the flames with his spring 2014 collection show on Saturday. The show production was well-done — with models standing in full view on a stage, then taking turns on the catwalk. It afforded a longer view of the clothes, which would have been great if the collection had been a winner.

Instead, whispers that the collection was uncomfortably similar to recent Dior collections were making their way through the audience before the show was over, and they continued through the day (a magazine editor stopped me on the sidewalk hours later to talk about the Dior-esque Prabal collection). Perhaps it was a bit close, though I was less concerned with those possible influences. After all, Dior’s Raf Simons may be the world’s most influential designer right now and we’re seeing his pinks, lavenders, and ladylike silhouettes in many collections. In fact, many New York collections take inspiration from Europe’s last-season runways.

But Prabal’s expensive designer price point does demand excellence in design and craftsmanship, and much of this collection was unfortunately fussy and confused. An elegantly draped dress was trussed up with a clumsy bow. Sweet dresses from the front revealed harsh plastic harness details across the open backs. Rather than balancing the clothing’s sweetness, they conflicted with it.

On a positive note, I did like the lace-printed floral daywear, which offered a balance of fashion and wearability.

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